


With Witches You Can Never Be Too Careful

by AgentBarryAllen (Sweet_Tea_Owl)



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Banter that's probably flirting more often than not, Detective Len, Fluff, Kinda, M/M, Magical Realism, Mild Injury, Pissing off witches, Snow Leopard Shenanigans, Swan Lake curse, blood mention, both of the literal and figurative variety, catnip, nose boops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-07-19 00:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7338139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweet_Tea_Owl/pseuds/AgentBarryAllen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>as you can imagine, Len pisses off a witch</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for [Marcechii](http://marcechii.tumblr.com/)

When Barry wakes up Puffball is already there. He knows this because there's a huge furry paw pressed to his face, just like every other morning for the past month. At first it had been rather endearing but it quickly became annoying, as Puffball was always reluctant to let Barry leave his bed to get ready for work. He had more than his fair share of large cat scratches covering his body from fighting to get out the door every morning. But the large snow leopard never hurt him severely like Barry knew he could.   
  
They had fallen into a weird sort of routine when one day, on his way home from work, Barry passed a pet store. He originally went in to find a laser pointer for Puffball but instead he found catnip. Interested in finding out what effect it would have on a snow leopard, he bought ten bags of it and brought it home.   
  
The second he walked through the door it was like one of those Calvin and Hobbes strips where Calvin comes home and gets bowled over by a tiger. It was all a blur and when it came to a stop Barry was on his back with a 165-pound big cat on his chest, burying his face in the pet store bag.   


  
At first Barry thought it was insanely cute. Puffball ran around his house, literally bouncing off the walls. But then the leopard became a little too destructive so Barry was forced to flush the catnip. After the nip started to wear off Puff became hungry and to Barry's surprise, he managed to open the fridge and started eating everything in it. That explained why some food was always missing when Puffball was around.   
  
Around the time of night when Puffball usually disappeared out the window and Barry went to bed, the snow leopard fell asleep stretched out on his couch. Barry thought nothing of it and started cleaning up the mess Puffball made when he heard a horrendous cracking noise, the sound of rending flesh, and animalistic moans of pain. On the couch, Puffball lay, twisting and contorting, legs bending backwards and fur falling off in clumps. Barry dropped what he was holding in shock and ran over to the wailing big cat.    
  
"Puff? Oh god I shouldn't have given you that catnip!!" Barry's hands hovered over the quaking mass that once was the snow leopard, not wanting to hurt him with his touch, and tears sprung to his eyes. But then the still-shaking cat started taking on a new, but recognizable, shape. Barry could do nothing but watch in awe as Puffball slowly turned into a very naked, very attractive man. A naked attractive man that Barry knew.

  
When Len woke up it was dark out and the sun had been down for hours. He had a headache that felt worse than any hangover he'd ever had. He carefully cracked open an eye, expecting to see an alleyway but instead he saw the familiar walls of Barry Allen's living room. What the hell? The last thing he remembered was waking up from a cat nap to the sound of Barry's keys turning in the lock and an irresistibly intoxicating smell. He opened his eyes wider and looked around the room cautiously, his eyes landing on Barry's confused and pissed-off face. __   
  
While Barry coped his confusion bypacing around his house and compulsively cleaning up the mess Puff- Leonard Snart had made, Snart started to wake up. When Len opened his eyes and met Barry's eyes, Barry finally opened his mouth.   
  
"What the fuck, Snart?!" Barry yelled, "You've been missing for a month! I thought you were dead!"   
  
Snart winced and rubbed his temple, "Didn't know you cared, Scarlet."   
  
"Of course I care you fucking dipshit." Barry threw his hands up in exasperation. "You were there when I told Puffball about you. Don't act stupid." Barry wondered how he could've forgotten how annoying Len was. He'd been insufferable every case they had ever worked together, the rookie CSI vs. the closed off, cocky detective.   
  
After Snart had been missing for two weeks Barry had broken down and confessed his attraction and actual affection for the man to the snow leopard that showed up at his house the same day the detective went missing.    
  
"So who did you piss off this time?" Barry threw a pair of sweatpants he'd retrieved before Len woke up at him.   
  
Len ignored the pants. "What makes you think I pissed someone off?" 

 

Barry raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

 

"I may have pissed off a witch."   
  
Barry rolled his eyes, "Of course you'd do something so stupid. Put the pants on or I'm kicking you out."   
  
Len glared but did as he was told.   
  
"So is this permanent or can it be broken?" Barry asked.   
  
Len sighed, "The witch had no imagination. True love’s kiss."    
  
"So go kiss your sister." Everyone these days knew that ‘true love’ could mean any kind of love.    
  
"I tried. She put a... specific clause on the curse..." Len refused to make eye contact with Barry.   
  
Barry saw the look on Len's face and cackled, "You have to kiss the person you were rude to last don't you? You should've said it was true  _ loathes _ kiss!"    
  
"You think you're real funny don't you?" Len glared. Barry was the last person Len had been rude to that day, so he'd let him believe that.   
  
"Fuck you, I'm hilarious. So why are you sleeping here instead of at your house? Are you secretly trying to kill me in the sleep and that's why you always try to smother me with your paw in the morning?"   
  
In fact, Len had been sleeping at Barry's so he could work up the courage to kiss him, or talk to him at least. "You caught me. They never would've suspected me."   
  
Barry glared at Len, wishing he'd tossed him a shirt to cover his distracting chest, covered in tattoos Barry wanted see up close. The man had some nerve sitting there teasing him when he knew painfully well how Barry felt. Apparently even a witch’s curse hadn’t taught him to get over himself and let Barry live.   
  
"Get out of my house, I'm going to bed." Barry turned and left the room before Len could say anything. 

  
  
Len watched Barry leave, completely dumbstruck. He didn't know what had happened, they'd had a nice banter going and then Barry's gaze had strayed to Len's chest and his face had turned red. What was wrong with his chest? Len looked down at himself. Could Barry see the scars behind the tattoos and what caused them? He was a CSI after all and a good one too, so Len wouldn't be surprised if he could.   
  
Normally Len would have left and avoided confrontation, but if he ever wanted to be human 100% of the time again he’d need Barry to kiss him, and for that to happen they’d have to talk about this.. Now that Barry knew he was the leopard there went the chance of getting kissed and breaking the spell with no awkward conversations along the way.

  
Len stalked into Barry's bedroom with all the grace and power of the animal he was cursed to be half the time. "What the hell was that about, Scarlet?"   
  
Barry groaned and rolled to face away from Len. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the jackass started teasing him about his crush. "Go away, Puffball."   
  
Len ignored him and sat down on the bed. "Ya'know I never would have expected this kind of reaction from you. I thought you of all people would understand, Barry."   
  
"What the hell are you talking about Snart?" Barry asked, confused, but he didn't roll back over. Len had used his name. Len never used his name before.   
  
"I'm talking about your reaction to my scars. You're the best CSI there is, don't think I don't know you can see them and know what they're from." Len growled.   
  
"What? I wasn't looking at your scars!" But he was now. Barry rolled over and stared intently at the geometric swirls and shapes designed to mask the scars littering Len's arms and chest. Barry didn't need to see the scars to know what they were from, he'd read Len's personnel file after the first time they'd met, searching for a clue as to why the man was such an ass to him.

 

Len crossed his arms over his chest, covering the worst of the marks, and scowled. “Then why did you get mad all of the sudden?”

 

“I don’t remember,” Barry quickly lifted a pillow and buried his face underneath it so Len wouldn’t see his blush.

 

“Barry,” Len glowered, “It was ten minutes ago.” 

 

Barry didn’t answer him and continued to hide his face under the pillow.

 

Len sighed, “Shove over,” and he pushed Barry over to make room for himself in the bed, making Barry squawk in surprise and indignation. 

 

Len settled down underneath the covers and closed his eyes while Barry sat up and glared down at him. “Why are you still here?”

 

“Think about it, Scarlet. I’ve been declared missing by the police for a month. I don’t have an apartment anymore,” Len replied. “And I’m tired so I’m sleeping here.”

 

“How can you be tired? All you do is sleep all day when you’re a cat.” Barry tried to push Len out of his bed but Len couldn’t be moved if he didn’t want to.

 

“Just go to sleep, Barry. We’ll talk more about this in the morning.” Len hoped Barry wouldn’t realize he wouldn’t be able to talk in the morning.

 

Barry was smarter than Len gave him credit and set his alarm for an hour before sunrise, so when his alarm went off Len jolted awake. “Shit.”

 

Barry grinned down at Len, “Thought you could get out of talking didn’t you?” 

 

Len groaned and mentally cursed himself for liking the most annoying kid on the planet. “Why?”

 

“Because you’re cursed.” Barry laughed at his own joke, “So I had some time to think while you were sleeping.”

 

Len now noticed the bags under Barry’s eyes. “Did you sleep at all?”

 

“What? No, not really. Anyway, I was trying to figure out why you’d hang around me and came to the logical conclusion that I was the last person you were rude too.” Barry smiled smugly and waited for Len to try and deny it.

 

Len closed his eyes and prayed for strength, “Maybe I like being a snow leopard? And bugging you is just a bonus.”

 

“Nope. You need me.” Barry kept smiling. Len did need him, just not the way Barry thought.

 

“So what if I do? It’s not like you’ll help me.” Len sat up, “Will you?”

 

“I might but you have to buy me dinner first.” Barry got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. Len was going to be changing soon and it was kinda painful to watch.

 

Len was once again left dumbstruck as Barry left the room wearing nothing but a pair of red briefs. He’d thought Barry was just shirtless and to find out he’d been sleeping next to an almost completely naked Barry. And then he insinuated he’d be willing to kiss him? Len knew Barry had a crush on him but he thought that Barry hated him more than he liked him. Apparently this was not the case and Len was tempted to follow Barry but before he could the change started.

 

By the time Barry returned from the shower Len was a leopard again and he didn’t look happy. Len crouched and prepared to pounce, his butt wiggling like a housecat’s, which would have been cute if Len didn’t have something akin to murder in his eyes. Hoping to distract Len, Barry dropped his towel and walked over to his dresser, pretending nothing was wrong. He glanced at Len out of the corner of his eye to see Len had stopped wiggling but he still looked mad. 

 

Len jumped of the bed lightly and stalked out of the room. A few seconds later Barry heard his fridge open and stuff being knocked around inside of it. He continued dressing quickly and ran into the kitchen to find Len eating an entire package of steaks. 

 

“Hey!” Barry rushed forward to try and save the steaks but Len growled and swiped at him.

 

“You’re just doing this to spite me aren’t you.” Barry asked. To his surprise, Len nodded and purred. Barry threw his hands up in exasperation and groaned. He grabbed a protein bar and headed for the door.

 

“Try not to destroy the place while I’m gone. Maybe think about what you want to do for our date.” Barry smirked and left without another word.

 

Len had a long time to think about what Barry said while he was at work. So when Barry came back Len was in a much better mood and he purred as soon as the door opened. He wound himself around Barry’s legs and all he got in response was a tired, “Not now, Puff.” Len followed Barry as he stumbled into his room and started stripping. It was then that Len remembered Barry hadn’t slept last night and Barry collapsed on the bed. Len poked Barry gently and Barry started and let out a long, low groan into the pillow. When he ran out of air he lifted his head to look at look at Len.

 

“What?” Barry groaned. Len gently booped his nose against Barry’s and blinked slowly, hoping he’d understand what he was trying to say.

 

“That’s super cute and all, Puff, but I don’t understand cat.” Barry replied. Len sighed and climbed onto the bed, curling around him and closing his eyes with a put upon huff. He hoped Barry had eaten something before he passed out. With Len’s warm furry body wrapped around him Barry quickly fell asleep.

 

Eventually Len had to get up, the sun was setting soon.

 

When Barry opened his eyes it was still dark out, and Len was watching him sleep.

 

“That’s super creepy, you know that right?” Barry put his hand on Len’s face and pushed it away from him. Len licked Barry’s hand and he jerked his hand back in disgust. “Gross.”

 

“Did you eat before you passed out?” Len asked.

 

“Yes, dear.” Barry rolled his eyes. Len narrowed his and stared at him.

 

“What?” Barry started to blush, realizing what he’d said.

 

“Nothing.” Len stood up. “You rested enough for our date?”

 

“What?” Barry’s blush increased to the point he was the color of Len’s nickname for him.

 

“You said that already.” Len smirked. “Well, Scarlet?”

 

“Yeah I guess. How did you get a reservation as a leopard?” Barry scowled at the nickname.

 

“I made it online. People can do that now.” Len said, matter of factly, but Barry was too distracted by the mental image of a snow leopard using a laptop.

 

“Alright, where are we going?” Barry looked at the alarm clock next to his bed. It must not be too fancy of a place to be open this late.

 

Apparently there were very nice places open at midnight. Barry stared at the wine list and tried to figure out how he was going to pay for all this. He’d spent all his extra money on cat toys for a fully grown snow leopard. In hindsight he should have known Puff was a cursed human. He hadn’t heard anything about a leopard escaping from the zoo. At first he’d been wary of the dangerous big cat that had showed up on his fire escape, but he’d come home one day to catch him chasing his tail and then carrying it around and his heart melted. The next day he came home with a bag full of toys.

 

“This place is pretty fancy,” Barry shifted nervously and picked at his t-shirt. Everywhere around him people were dressed much much nicer than he was. 

 

“Only the best for our first date.” Len smirked.

 

“Thanks. Wait, first?” Barry really hoped that meant what he thought it did. “Like there will be more than one?”

 

“If you want.” Len shrugged.

 

Barry did want that. He wanted that a lot. He smiled and blushed behind his menu. “So how exactly did you piss off this witch?”

 

“I didn’t stand up when she got on the bus. In my defense she was normal looking. She wasn’t old or pregnant looking either and I had just finished off that really bad homicide. You remember the one.” Barry did remember the one. It had been awfully similar to what had happened to his parents except this time they caught the murderer.

 

“So when I didn’t stand up she got pissed and started yelling at me. I wasn’t in the mood for it so I ignored her and she cursed me for being rude.” Len glowered. That wasn’t the whole truth. He’d politely asked her to kiss his ass. Then, he was cursed. Barry laughed and Len’s heart melted.

 

“Of course you weren’t in the mood for it. You’re never in the mood for anything.” Barry giggled.

 

“Shut up, I’m in the mood for lots of stuff.”

 

“Really?” Barry snorted and sat back in his seat, finally relaxing under the influence of their usual banter, “Like what?”

 

“Uhhhhmmm.” Len was honestly drawing a blank.

 

“Well you seemed to be pretty in the mood for catnip, kitty.” Barry laughed again and Len almost blushed. 

 

Then a slow smile spread across Len’s face, “I’m always in the mood for you, Scarlet.”

 

“Shut up, you dork.” Barry’s blush was back. This Len was so much different from the one he’d worked with before. That Len had been an ass to Barry from the second they met, making him blush by being incredibly attractive, then humiliating him for being late to a crime scene. Barry had been so mad he’d turned crimson and that’s how the nickname had been born. But this Len smiled and flirted with him openly, almost like he was another person.

 

The rest of their date went swimmingly. Barry blushed for most of it but he managed to get Len to smile and even blush too, once. All in all, Barry had a great time. They were walking back to Barry’s apartment, Barry with a pleasant buzz from the expensive wine Len had picked out, and Len smiling with an arm wrapped around Barry’s waist, when a thought occurred to Barry. 

 

Barry pulled away from Len’s arm and turned to face him, “This better not have all been an act just to break your curse, Snart. I really like you and I’d hate to have to kick your ass.”

 

“I really like you too, Barry.” Len smiled and hooked his arm back around Barry’s waist, pulling him closer, “No act. I’m a terrible actor.”

 

“Oh I don’t know, Puffball. You did a pretty good job of pretending to be a snow leopard for a month.” Barry smiled.

 

“I guess I did. By the way, what possessed you to name a snow leopard  _ Puffball  _ of all things?” Len asked, genuinely curious.

 

“Did you even look at yourself? Are you kidding? You were the fluffiest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame I’ll never get to see it again.” Barry pouted. He was going to miss having a snow leopard around to cuddle. At least he’d probably have Len to snuggle up to instead.

 

“I’ll take you to the zoo for our next date,” Len promised and Barry grinned, “You better.” Then Barry was wrapping a hand around Len’s shaved head and pulling him down for a passionate kiss. It was the best kiss Len had ever received and he had to break it quickly before it got too out of hand. Disappointment flooded Barry’s face, Len’s breaking of the kiss leading him to believe it  _ had  _ been all an act, but before he could start yelling, Len pulled him in for another earth-shattering kiss. This one lasted much longer than the first and when they mutually broke it they were both gasping for breath.

 

“I just wanted to make sure that it felt so amazing because of you, not because the curse was breaking.” Len explained.

 

“Oh.” Barry smiled. “Do you think it worked?”

 

“I don’t know,” A sly smile graced Len’s lips. “We might have to kiss a couple more times to find out.”

  
Barry laughed and kissed Len’s cheek, “Then we better get back home before we make a scene. Race you!” Barry took of running, laughing like a loon all the way, and Len snorted, taking off after him at a much more reserved pace. It was going to be a long rest of the night and he knew he’d need all his energy to keep up with Barry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something was wrong, this isn't supposed to happen. Why didn't it work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sin is I lied

Barry reached his apartment much faster than Len and as soon as he got through the door he started stripping. By the time Len showed up Barry was spread eagle on his bed, completely naked and snoring. Len had only been thirty seconds behind him, so it showed just how tired Barry was. 

 

Len sighed fondly and carefully moved Barry underneath the covers with minimal jostling. They had an hour until the sun would rise and Barry would have to leave for work so Len crawled in beside Barry, holding him close and closing his eyes.

 

It was nearing the sunrise when Len felt a twinge of pain. He thought nothing of it and started to fall back asleep when another, much bigger, jolt shot through him. He sat up abruptly and his stomach filled with dread. He jumped off the bed and ran into the living room before the pain grew to be too much.

 

‘No no no! I really like Barry, if he thinks it didn't work he’ll leave,’ Len thought. He curled up into a fetal position behind Barry's couch and tried to muffle his groans of pain as his body twisted and convulsed.

 

Barry was roused from a wonderful dream about Len by muffled noises coming from his living room. He sleepily crawled out of his bed to go investigate, expecting to find Len watching tv or something. As he entered the living room he yawned and stretched, preparing to apologize for falling asleep, when his mind properly processed the noises he was hearing. 

 

“Len?” Barry looked around the room for the source of the whining noise. It seemed to be coming from behind his couch and Barry crouched down to look behind it. 

 

“Len?!” Barry gasped at the sight of the snow leopard. The poor creature whimpered at the sound of Barry's voice and curled in on himself tighter.

 

“Oh, Len.” Barry reached for him but Len flinched away, so Barry crawled behind the couch to sit next to him. He carefully reached out to pet Len, so as not to startle him.

 

“It's going to be okay, kitty.” Barry soothed, “We’ll figure this out. I'll even hunt down the witch if I have too.” 

 

Len cautiously uncurled and crawled into Barry lap. It was then that Barry noticed he was stark naked and remembered Len had sharp claws. But Len was careful not to scratch him and he rubbed his face against Barry's. Barry rubbed Len behind his ears and he started purring.

 

“See? We're okay.” Barry laughed softly and Len touched his nose to Barry's. They gazed into each other's eyes and Barry was struck by how similar Len's human eyes were to his leopard ones. 

 

Then Len broke the moment by licking Barry's nose making him sputter his outrage and wipe furiously at his nose.

 

“Gross, Len! You have major cat breath.” Barry said, trying to rub the smell out of his nose.

 

Len got off Barry's lap and made a chuffing noise. It took Barry awhile to realize he was laughing.

 

“You're such an ass.” Barry crawled out from behind the couch behind Len and got hit in the face with Len's huge tail. He stood up and glared down at an innocent looking Len. They had an intense staring match that Barry had no hope of winning and he finally gave up. Len snorted and licked his shoulder, smoothing out some fur.

 

“I'm gonna get ready for work, kitty.” Barry sighed and walked into his bathroom. Len followed closely behind him and watched him get the shower ready with in blinking eyes.

 

“What, you perv?” Barry asked Len as if he could answer.

 

Len huffed and rolled his eyes. How was he going to get Barry to understand him when he was like this? Len took too long to do anything other than stare imploringly at him so Barry got in the shower.

 

Len growled in annoyance and left the room, looking for some way of communicating with Barry. Briefly, he entertained vindictive thoughts of scratching his message into something, but he didn’t want give Barry a reason to be mad at him.

 

Len decided to make a mess instead. He had fun doing it too, pulling a bag of flour out and spreading it out across Barry’s kitchen floor. He then wrote what he wanted to say in the mess with long sweeping movements of his paw. 

 

When Barry came out of his bedroom fully dressed and ready for work, to see the mess Len had made he could do nothing but drop his face into his hands. Having Len around was like actually owning a pet.

 

“When I get home and you’re a human again, you’re cleaning this up.” Barry groaned and dropped his hands from his face, finally reading what Len had wrote. 

 

“ _ What are we going to do? _ ” The message said.

 

“I’m going to go to work and when I get back, and you’ve cleaned this up, we’ll head out and find your witch. I’ll look her up in the directory. Hopefully she’s registered.” Barry shrugged. 

 

Barry crouched down closer to Len and scratched him under his chin. Later, Len would deny enjoying it but for now he purred like a kitten. Barry kissed Len’s forehead and stood back up. 

 

“See you later, kitty.” Barry smiled and walked out the door. Lately, he somehow always seemed to get the last word, even when Len was human, and it was always when he walked away.

 

For a while Len did nothing but napping and ignoring the mess Barry told him to clean up. But eventually he got bored enough and put his overly fluffy tail to use, sweeping up the flour into a neat little pile. He’d have to wait until he changed back to finish cleaning it up so went back to napping instead. Being a cat was exhausting. 

 

When Barry returned Len was covered in flour but the rest was in a pile. Such a good kitty. Barry cleaned up the rest of the flour and sat down to watch Len twitch in his sleep. He reached out to pet Len and the leopard woke with a small house cat-like ‘brrr?’ His eyes opening unfocused at first but quickly locking on to Barry.

 

“You’re so cute like this,” Barry cooed, petting Len behinds his ears. Len sighed and stood up to get closer to Barry, rubbing against him and covering him in flour and fur. 

 

Barry didn’t mind and he hugged the big cat around the neck, laughing. “Do you want to know what I found out or what?” Len stopped leaning on Barry and laid down across his legs, waiting for him to start talking. Barry stretched out and grabbed his bag, bringing it closer and pulling out a couple files.

 

“These are the witches with priors for animal curses and a couple that have threatened to,” Barry opened the files and spread them out so Len could see the mug shots, “Look at them and tell me if you see anyone familiar.”

 

Len spotted the witch almost immediately and touched the picture with his nose. He was thankful that it was easy to find the witch but it didn’t bode well for the ease of what would happen when he met her again.

 

“Okay, great.” Barry smiled, “As soon as you turn back into a human we’ll go find her.” 

 

Barry stood back up and started getting dinner ready. Len watched him for a while before getting up and stalking into the living room, intent on getting on the loveseat to watch tv.

 

“Hey! Don’t you dare get on my chair, Len! You’re covered in flour!” Barry shouted from the kitchen and Len made eye contact with him before jumping onto the loveseat and sitting his flour covered butt on it, staring at Barry in defiance. 

 

Barry made a noise of outrage, “Come on, Len! Why are you like this?” Barry didn’t come after Len like he’d expected and he was mildly disappointed. Oh well. Len turned on the tv and watched it while Barry continued to make dinner.

 

It didn’t take Barry long to finish making dinner. He called Len back in and saw the big cats head pop up over the back of the chair, surprised. “You didn’t think I was going to let you starve, did you?” He sat a plate down with a rare cooked steak for Len and in a explosion of fur and flour, the cat was over the back loveseat and in the kitchen wolfing down the steak.

 

Barry laughed and sat down to eat his own dinner, much slower than Len. The snow leopard finished his steak quickly and sat next to Barry, watching him eat with big, round eyes. At first, Barry tried not to let the eyes get to him but he was weak and ended up giving Len the rest of his steak. “You’re a disgrace to snow leopards everywhere.”

 

They spent the time until Len’s change curled up on the loveseat together watching tv. When it was time Len went into the bathroom and changed in the tub and he took a shower as soon as he was human again. He came out of the bathroom dressed to find Barry waiting for him.

 

“Let's go-” Len was cut off by Barry kissing him and throwing his arms around his neck. The kiss was sweet at first but it quickly became heated. Barry moaned, tried to take the kiss farther. but Len carefully pulled away.

 

“I missed you.” Barry whined. 

 

“I was here the whole time.” Len kissed the tip Barry’s nose.

 

“I know but I can’t kiss a snow leopard, that would be weird. Plus, you’re kind of a shithead when you’re a cat.” Barry poked Len’s chest.

 

“Shut up, you think it’s cute.” Len smirked and grabbed the hand that poked him.

 

“Yeah, I do.” Barry smiled and kissed Len again. He tried one more time to take the kiss further but Len shut him down.

 

“You said we’d go find the witch as soon as I changed back, Barry.” Len chuckled.

 

“I know,” Barry groaned. “Fine, let’s get this over with so we can come back and do something more fun.”

 

“Okay,” Len grinned, “I’m looking forward to it.” 

 

They took the same bus Len had taken when he’d run into the witch, and it had him remembering what had happened after he got off the bus. 

 

_ After the witch had cursed him and left, Len was sure she was just a crazy woman, because nothing was happening. He laughed silently to himself and got off the bus to walk the rest of the way home as the sun rose. As he walked he thought about CSI Allen and smiled. The kid was adorable when he was flustered and mad, but if Len wanted to get anywhere with him he should probably stop being so rude to him just to watch him turn red. He wondered if Barry would turn red like that when he first kissed him or when he fucked Barry into his mattress.  _

 

_ The first rays of light spilled over the horizon and Len was broke from his thoughts by an awful pain shooting down his spine. It was quick, and he stumbled into an alley, collapsing against the wall and writhing in pain. The pain blurred his perception of time, and it felt like hours before it faded and he was left broken in an alley, the witch having made good on their curse. _

 

_ It had only taken ten minutes for Len to change, but it took him an hour to recover from it and attempt to stand up. It was odd that he knew instinctively how to move in his new body, but he did. He knew how to use it as though it had been his his entire life and it was disorienting in its own way. He could smell things he’d never smelled before, and he could see things differently, and right now all he could smell was garbage.  _

 

_ He ran out of the alleyway and took off, heading for the CCPD. It was against the law to curse humans as animals and the squad’s sorcerer could find the caster and have them arrested. But the second he neared the building an overwhelming smell filled his nose. It was the best thing he’d ever smelled and he wanted to follow it to it’s source so he could be near it all the time. _

 

_ He changed directions and ran after the smell, staying in the shadows and avoiding large crowds until he came to an apartment building. He knew he couldn’t just go in so he jumped and caught the bottom of the building’s fire escape. He followed the scent up the stairs and he almost passed the window of the scent’s origins but it was so strong it stopped him in his tracks. He tried to open the window, clawing and biting at it until a light came on and the owner of the scent appeared in the window, looking like he’d just woken up. _

 

_ Len was stunned to find CSI Barry Allen was the origin of the smell but he wasn’t disappointed. He yowled, pleading Barry to open the window, and surprisingly he did while hissing, “shhh you’ll wake the neighbors.” _

 

_ Len hopped into the room as soon as the window was open wide enough, and he wound himself around Barry’s legs, purring. Later he’d be embarrassed but, right now, he was drowning himself in the amazing smell coming from Barry. He jumped up, placing his paws on Barry’s shoulders, trying to get closer and smell more but he knocked Barry over. _

 

_ “Woah!” Barry flailed and tried to catch himself on something but found nothing and crashed to the floor with a bang, “Ow!” Len wasn’t too concerned and he crawled over top of Barry and burying his head in Barry’s neck. Barry froze underneath him and the smell soured slightly, making Len confused, and he lifted his head up to stare down at Barry’s face.  _

 

_ The kid’s eyes were squeezed shut tight and he looked terrified. He made a questioning noise and nosed Barry’s cheek. _

 

_ “Please don’t eat me,” Barry whimpered and Len jumped off him, shocked. Barry opened his eyes and stared at him, the fear not quite leaving his eyes, but he relaxed slightly. Len made a concerned noise and shifted his shoulders impatiently, making Barry completely lose all the tension in his body and burst out laughing. Len’s eyes widened and he laid his ears back, surprised. _

 

_ “I’m sorry,” Barry gasped and giggled, clutching his stomach, “You just looked so much like that dragon from How To Train Your Dragon.” _

 

_ After that they got along really well, Len coming and going while Barry didn’t ask any questions, and the rest was history. _

 

They got off the bus at the same stop Len remembered the witch getting off at after she cursed him and Barry told him the address in the file was somewhere near here. Together they walked towards the address in companionable silence, holding hands. They were about a block from the witches home when Len spotted her walking towards them, looking at her cell phone. Unfortunately, before Len could tell Barry, she looked up and saw Len.

 

“Hey!” Len yelled, but she was already turning and running. Len took off after her, Barry right behind him yelling, “Wait stop!”

 

The witch was fast but, surprisingly, Barry was faster and he passed Len, sprinting after the witch with Len tailing him. Barry and the witch ran around a corner out of Len’s sight and when he turned it he saw Barry tackle the witch to the ground.

 

“Please stop struggling Miss. You’re not in trouble or anything we just want to ask you a couple questions.” Barry sounded innocent but his body language screamed cop. His knee was pressed into the witches back and he wrestled her arms around to hold them like he would if he were to cuff her. It was incredibly hot, to Len, finding out how deceptively strong and skilled Barry was. He’d thought Barry was just a lab rat but he clearly paid attention during the important parts of the academy training.

 

“Then get off of me!” the witch yelled and squirmed in Barry’s grasp.

 

“I can’t do that. I don’t know you won’t hurt me or my partner.” Barry replied, but he loosened his grip. Len wondered what Barry meant by calling him his partner. Did he mean partner in crime fighting or life partner?

 

“I promise I won’t hurt you. I can’t anyway. I drained my supply cursing your  _ partner _ .” the witch hissed in pain. 

 

“Okay, okay. I’m letting go.” Barry carefully released the witch and stood up. 

 

The witch stood up as well, rubbing her wrists. “Damn, you’re strong for someone so scrawny. So what are your questions?” Len didn’t answer, still struck dumb by Barry.

 

“We kissed but Len’s curse didn’t break.” Barry asked for him.

 

“Well how long have you two been dating?” the witch asked.

 

“Two days. What do you mean dating? I thought Len just had to kiss the last person he was rude too?” Barry asked puzzled.

 

The witch burst out laughing and snapped her fingers, freezing Barry in place and breaking Len out of his stupor. “Oh my god. You let him believe that?”

 

“What did you do to him?!” Len ignored her question.

 

“Chillax Lenny, Bear’s fine. I just stopped time for a moment.” The witch smirked. If she could stop time after cursing Len then she was clearly more powerful than her test scores said and she was a liar.

 

“How do you know our names? Have you been following me?” Len was confused and angry. “Barry better be okay.”

 

“Careful Lenny,” the witch warned, “You know what I'm capable of when I'm mad. And I know your names cause I'm just  _ that _ good. Now do you want your questions answered or what?”

 

Len deflated and sighed, “Please just tell me why the curse didn't break. I kissed Barry, it should've worked.”

 

“You do know it's supposed to be true loves kiss right? Not the last person you were a dick to.” The witch thought they'd been pretty clear about the terms of the curse.

 

“Yes, I just let him believe that. We went on a date, and it's went great, so why didn't work?” Len scowled.

 

“Okay, a couple things. First, you were a dick to the guy you like? What are you, a five year old boy? Second, love doesn't work like that dumbass, it takes time. You have to work at it. You and Barry have only been dating for two days, by the way it took you a month to ask him out? Anyway it's going to be a while before your curse is broken. You gotta fall in love with each other. As you do, the time you spend transformed will get shorter and shorter.” The witch finished her rant. “Now take your cute boyfriend on some dates you asshole and quit shuffling your feet.” 

 

Before Len could say another word the witch snapped her fingers and disappeared in a puff of smoke. At the same time Barry unfroze and coughed as he inhaled some of the smoke.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Barry coughed and waved the smoke out of his face.

 

“Let’s go get coffee and I’ll tell you.” Len replied with a small smile.

 

“Wait wait wait. You’re telling me that the kiss had to be true love not the last person you were a ass too? You weren’t joking.” Barry held up his hands to stop Len mid story. They’d gone to a nearby diner after their encounter with the witch so Len could tell him what had happened.

 

“If that were the case then I’d have to kiss the witch, not you.” Len sighed.

 

“Aaawww, Len.” Barry smiled fondly and that was not the reaction Len had been expecting. “You liked me. You just had a bad way of showing it.”

 

“Shut up, I was just trying to make you blush. You’re cute when you’re mad at me.” Len grumbled.

 

“You thought I was cute,” Barry singsonged, “cause you like me.”

 

“Do you want to hear the rest of what she said or not?” Len groaned.

 

“Yes, please continue.” Barry motioned for him to go on and Len rolled his eyes.

 

“She said that the curse would break over time as our feelings for each other grew into true love.”

 

“Then I better get started on dating the crap out of you so you fall for me,” Barry grinned. 

 

“That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever had someone say to me,” Len replied sarcastically.

 

“Don’t worry, it won’t be the last.” Barry smiled softly and finished his drink. “Let’s go home now.”

 

“Okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy (early) Birthday Marce!!

**Two Days into Dating**

They returned home around  6 a.m. and Barry immediately started stripping as he headed for the bedroom, tossing his clothes at Len as he went. Once Len realized what was happening, he’d smiled and prowled after Barry, removing his own clothes as he went. When he reached the bedroom Barry was already bent over the bed, pulling back the blankets and sheets.

 

Len grinned and walked up behind Barry, pressing his nude body against Barry’s. Running his hands over his chest and teasing his nipples. Barry gasped and moaned, leaning back against Len’s chest, able to feel his arousal pressed against his ass. 

 

“You’re such a tease Barry Allen. You walk around naked entirely too much when I can’t do anything about it. All I wanted to do was pin you down and fuck that delicious ass of your’s but I couldn’t.” Len growled into Barry’s ear and bit it.

 

Barry moaned and ground his ass back against Len’s cock, “Well what’s stopping you from doing it now?” 

 

Len groaned and rubbed against Barry’s ass before looking at the clock. “The sunrise is in ten minutes and what I want to do to you would take much longer than that.” 

 

Barry groaned in frustration and turned around in Len’s arms. “We don’t have to do that do we? We can save it for the third date.” He pressed his hips to Len’s and whimpered at the feel of Len’s cock pressed tightly to his own. 

 

Len groaned and gripped Barry’s hips to hold them still, “Such a tease.” 

 

“Shut up, you know you enjoy it,” Barry grinned and leaned down to lick and bite at his neck. Using Len's distraction, Barry slowly shifted them around until the back of Len's knees hit the bed.

 

“Yeah I do,” Len smiled, no point in denying the obvious.

 

Barry laughed and pushed Len backwards onto the bed. Quickly following after him,  he crawled onto the bed and over top of Len, settling into his lap and kissing him. Len grunted and tightly gripped Barry’s hips, licking deep into his mouth, making him moan and rock his hips against Len’s. 

 

Len grinned and broke the kiss, tightening his grip on Barry’s hips just enough to hold him still. “If you really want to do this then you have eight minutes to make us both cum and clean us up before I turn back into a leopard.”

 

Barry groaned and pressed his face against Len’s chest, “That's not enough time for what I want to do.”

 

Len chuckled, “Then I guess you’ll have to wait for tomorrow. Think you can last that long?”

 

Barry lifted his head to glare at Len, “Is that a challenge?”

 

Len’s eyes took on a mischievous shine and he grinned, “Maybe.”

 

Barry sat up to stare down at Len confidently, “Oh yeah? Well I bet I can make it all the way to the end of your curse without jumping you.”

 

Len immediately sobered, “Barry that could be months, maybe even a years away.”

 

“What’s wrong Len? Think you’ll lose?” Barry smirked.

 

**Three Days of Dating**

“Snart! Just because you’re cursed doesn’t mean you can disappear off the face of the earth!” Captain Singh was as pissed as they’d expected, “Officer Grodd came in even though he’d been turned into a giant telepathic gorilla.” Singh pointed at the officer in question, who was still cursed because he was incapable of not being angry at least once a day. Grodd was human at the time and it seemed like he was struggling with a stapler before he finally became angry enough. In an explosion of gorilla hair, Grodd howled and crushed the stapler in his massive fist.

 

“Yeah,” Len drew out the word as he turned back to look at Singh. “I can see that it’s good to have him here.”

 

Singh rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Can it Snart. So what kind of curse do you have?”

 

“...let’s just call it comeuppance and leave it at that.”

 

“Mutation, transformation luck alteration -”

 

“Transformation.”

 

Barry rolled his eyes, “He was an ass to a witch and now he’s got a standard animal transformation curse with a sun set and rise transformation, daytime animal form, and a standard love solution.”

 

“What kind of animal?” Singh turned his full attention to Barry.

 

“Snow leopard, sir.” Barry tried to keep his composure in front of the Captain as a joke came to him suddenly, “Y’know, to match his cold attitude but fluffy interior.” He giggled.

 

Singh laughed too and Barry assumed everything would be fine but of course he should have remembered the old saying about what happens when one assumes something, “Yeah, that’s real funny Allen. Since you seem to know so much about this you’ll be his handler.” It was so not okay. “Anything else I need to know? Is there a love interest yet? I assume that’s what you’ve been doing this past month Snart.”

 

“Uh, yes sir. Me,” Barry said cautiously.

 

“You’re telling me, all this time you were aware of Detective Snart was never actually missing and you said nothing to anyone?” Singh’s voice took on a dangerous edge as he crossed his arms and Len instinctively put a comforting hand on the small of Barry’s back.

 

“No sir, he didn’t know it was me up until a few days ago.” Len came to Barry’s defense. 

 

Singh sighed and seemed to deflate some as he uncrossed his arms, “Good. Barry is the best CSI I have, it would have been a shame if I’d had to fire him over this. I guess it's a good thing he’ll be your handler then. It’ll give you more time together so you can break this curse and I can get one of my best detectives back full time.”

 

**Three Weeks of Dating**

 

Barry looked up from his book when he heard a plaintive yowl to see Len sitting in front of him, staring. He closed his book and stared back, “Yes dear?”

 

Len howled again and shifted on his paws looking at Barry expectantly. Barry sighed and leaned himself further  back into the couch. “Alright fine, but you’re cleaning up any fur later.” He patted his chest and watched as Len crouched down into what Barry was starting to think of as the death wiggle, the leopard’s eyes dilating and his ears laying flat to his head. “Len, Len no.” 

 

Len didn’t listen and pounced lightly onto the couch, causing Barry to flinch because he’d been expecting an actual attack. Len chuffed as he settled down in Barry’s lap with his paws on Barry’s shoulders and he nuzzled Barry’s neck, tickling him and making him laugh.

 

“You’re a bad kitty Leonard Snart.” Barry chuckled and scratched the snow leopard behind his ears, making him rumble into a loud purr. Len was so sweet when he was like this, so Barry wrapped his arms around Len’s neck, burying his face in the fur and breathing deep. Len’s purring got louder and Barry suddenly remembered what usually happened when Len purred that loud.

 

“Len NO!” he shouted, but it was too late and the claws were already in his shoulder. “Ugh, Len,” he groaned.

 

**Two Months  and Four Weeks of Dating**

 

Barry stomped angrily into the apartment with an equally pissed Len following close behind. As soon as Len was through the doorway he slammed the door behind himself making Barry spin to glare at him.

 

“Why the hell did you do that?” Barry yelled, “You probably woke up my neighbors!”

 

“Oh yeah,” Len scoffed, “like you didn't just wake them with your yelling?”

 

Barry sneered at him but said nothing, knowing Len was probably right. 

 

“What the hell was that by the way? I had the guy! You could've been seriously hurt.” Len looked pointedly to the bloody bandage on Barry's bicep.

 

*****

 

_ Two Hours Earlier _

_ They had been following a lead for a case when the prime suspect had appeared and started running. Len immediately giving chase, with Barry not far behind, but the leopard and runner rounded the corner out of his sight. When he turned the corner he saw Len had the suspect cornered and the man was reaching for something tucked in the back of his waistband.  _

 

_ “Gun!” Barry yelled and he ran at the man, intent on getting to him before he could free the weapon from his pants. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and the man had the gun pulled by the time he reached him. However, Barry's running at him had spooked the man and he shakily aimed it at him just as Barry tackled him to the ground. _

 

_ Len watched in awe as his boyfriend took the man down. Then -BANG!- the gun went off and Len’s awe turned into horror.  _

 

_ For a second no one moved and Len held his breath, frozen and hoping Barry was okay. Then Barry was moving again, taking the gun from the man and rolling him over to cuff his hands behind his back. He then stood up, hauling the man up with him, and started reading him his rights, pushing him towards their car. _

 

_ Len felt relief flood through him and he walked over to guard the gun until Barry could come back and bag it. Barry hadn't been hit! But then the strong scent of blood hit Len's nose and he whipped his gaze over to Barry frantically making sure he was still standing.  _

 

_ Barry shoved the man in the back seat of the car and slammed the door shut. He grabbed a bag from his kit in the trunk, trying to ignore the burning in his arm, before heading back over to pick up the gun, depositing it in the bag. He then looked up, searching for Len, and saw him frozen and shaking, staring at a few drops of what Barry could only assume was his blood. _

 

_ “Len?” Barry cautiously touched the leopard’s soft shoulder, not wanting to startle him. As soon as Barry's hand made contact Len’s head flew up and the cat was in Barry's space sniffing him all over until he found the flesh wound on his bicep.  _

 

_ Len whined pitifully when he found the wound and gently nosed around the bloody area, careful not to touch the actual wound. He could barely feel Barry petting him and telling him he was okay and that it was worse than it looked. All he could think about was - what if the man had had better aim? _

 

***

 

“You did not have the guy!” Barry shouted indignantly. “If I hadn't tackled him you would have been the one shot. I'm the one wearing Kevlar to protect me, not you!” 

 

“You know what? This… all of this was a mistake. I shouldn't have made you feel like you had to fall in love with me. You probably only love me because you think you have too.” Len wasn't thinking clearly and it was like he'd forgotten how many hours they'd shaved off his original transformation time.

 

“Don’t you dare say that Leonard Snart,” Barry hissed vehemently, “What I feel for you is real dammit. You need to pull your head out of your ass and realize that what happened is a part of the job. Our job, Len.” 

 

“No! It’s a part of my job, not yours!” Len shouted, “You’re not a detective you’re a CSI, Barry!”

 

Barry sighed, his anger dissipating. He knew Len was right and his anger was coming from a place of fear, not actual regret dating Barry. He reached out and grabbed Len’s hand, dragging him towards the bedroom. 

 

Len started to protest and Barry growled, “I’m tired, we’re going to bed.” Apparently something in his tone was enough to shut Len up because he stopped resisting Barry’s tugging and allowed Barry to lead him to the bedroom, stripping down to their underwear before climbing into bed and falling asleep almost instantly.

 

When they woke they continued their fight and eventually made up, both agreeing that their reason for fighting was stupid.

 

**Four Months of Dating**

 

Len gave a bored sigh. Barry was busy doing his actual job instead of babysitting him and he was going out of his mind with nothing to do. He was sitting in the middle of the lab trying to stare Barry into finishing quicker when something flicked in and out of the corner of his eye. He ignored it until it happened again and he slowly turned his head to look at it, feigning disinterest.

 

All he saw was a furry black and white object at first but then it twitched and his eyes dilated. He laid his ears back flat and focused on the fluffy being completely, shaking harder in anticipation every time it flicked with short jerky movements. His tail twitching faster with the increasing tension in his frame. He was so focused on hunting his unaware prey that he didn’t even notice Barry pull out his phone and start recording.

 

Barry muffled his giggling with one hand as he watched Len slowly stand up while watching his tail. He nearly broke his silence when Len started to do what Barry liked to call the Death Wiggle.

 

Len was going to catch this thing. It had no idea he’d spotted it and he was going to murder it, maybe Barry would like a gift of it even. He waited a couple more seconds before pouncing. But the fluffy prey must have sensed his gaze because it moved the instant he did and he chased after it, intent on pinning it to the ground.

  
  


Barry was sobbing silently, biting down on his palm to muffle hysterical laughter.

 

Finally! Len caught the thing in his mouth and turned triumphant to present it to Barry. 

 

Barry took one look at Len with his own tail in his mouth and he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He stopped recording, dropping his phone onto the desk beside him as he bent double. He laughed so hard it sounded like he was crying and Len dropped his tail, concerned, rushing over to Barry and nosing at his face. Barry had tears streaming out of his eyes and he lost the fight to stay standing, collapsing to the floor in the fetal position. Len was chirping worriedly the entire time and he rubbed his cool, wet nose over Barry’s tear soaked cheeks and that was how Captain Singh found them. 

 

**Four Months, Four Weeks, and Three Days of Dating**

Iris was finally back from her honeymoon. Five months may seem like a ridiculously long time for a honeymoon but after the awful business with a telepath that was convinced her Eddie was his great great grandfather they had decided to take a long vacation. They just wanted to spend time together being grateful Eddie was alive. They spent five whole months wrapped up in each other, barely sparing any time to send the occasional text to Joe saying they were alive.

 

Now they were finally back and Iris wanted to see her brother so while Eddie headed back to work Iris went over to Barry’s to see him on what she’d been told was his day off. She planned on it being a surprise as Barry didn’t know she was back yet and she’d picked up his favorite pastry and coffee from Jitters. She walked up to Barry’s door and opened it quietly with the set of keys Barry had given her. She was trying to be quiet since Barry slept in on his days off.

 

As predicted Barry was nowhere to be found in the living room or kitchen so Iris snuck towards the bedroom intent on rudely waking Barry up by jumping on his bed like she had when they were kids. Just as she reached the door she heard hushed voices coming from the bedroom and she cautiously looked around the corner.

 

Barry was laying on top of a familiar looking man whispering and spreading soft kisses across the man’s face. The man was protesting halfheartedly and laughing softly, doing his best to return the occasional kiss that landed on his lips.

 

“Barry stop I only have a few minutes left,” the man chuckled, “You remember what happened last time, do you really want to end up with a mouthful of fur again?”

 

Barry groaned and buried his face in the man’s neck and it seemed like he was about to give in but instead he started slowly kissing up the man’s neck.

 

It was the man’s turn to groan, exasperated and a mischievous look appeared in his eyes, “You asked for it,” he growled wrapping his arms around Barry tightly and rolling them so Barry was being flattened beneath him and Iris thought she might have to leave soon. To her surprise the man just laughed and laid on top of Barry, unmoved by Barry’s attempts to push him off. 

 

“Len no! Not again I promise I’ll stop.” Barry whined, muffled by the man’s chest.

 

“Too late,” the man grinned and to Iris’ surprise he changed into a snow leopard before her eyes. 

 

Barry, seemingly unsurprised, only groaned in exasperation at the big cat laying on top of him, “Why do you have to do that? You know I hate it.”

 

The leopard huffed at Barry and purred, leaning down to lick Barry’s face making him squirm and protest more. Iris stared awestruck at the odd sight when the cat froze mid lick before lifting his head and whipping it around to hiss directly at her. The cat stood up and advanced towards her slowly, growling menacingly when Barry sat up in the bed.

 

“Iris! You’re back!” Barry scrambled out of the bed and thank god he was wearing boxers, “Len calm down this is my sister.” The cat immediately relaxed and padded past Iris into the living room.

 

“Barry-” Iris started to speak but Barry cut in.

 

“How was your honeymoon? Is Eddie going to work today? Wait do I smell coffee?” He babbled in an attempt to distract her from the obvious. 

 

“My honeymoon was great, he did go to work, and yes that is coffee as well as your favorite from Jitter. Now explain why there’s a leopard on your couch watching Jeopardy.

 

Barry shrugged sheepishly, “He likes Trebek?” Iris gave him a her reporter face, “Okay fine, it's a long story. But for the record he does like Trebek.”

 

**Six Months and Two Weeks of Dating**

“Len, Len wake up.” 

 

Len groaned and tried to shrug off the hand shaking his shoulder.

 

“Leeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnn.” The owner of the hand gave up on shaking him awake and instead rolled him onto his back. They straddled his stomach and sat down hard, knocking the wind out of him. He opened his eyes annoyed and glared up at Barry, his hands instinctively coming up to rest on Barry’s hips.

 

“What? What did you want that couldn’t wait till morning?” Len was a little mad he’d woken up but he’d lost the ability to get truly angry at Barry. After the first month of their five month relationship, he’d grown pretty much immune.

 

“So I was thinking and I realized something very important!” Barry’s expression screamed excitement.

 

“You were thinking at-” Len glanced at the alarm clock, “Three in the morning? That’s dangerous.”

 

“Shut up, this is important.” Barry glared down at Len.

 

“Yes dear.” Len conceded with a smirk.

 

“So, as I was saying. I was thinking and I realized that your changes have been really short lately but they seemed like they weren’t getting any shorter.” Len had noticed this too but he’d tried not to think about it too much. “But I figured out why. It’s because I hadn’t realized I love you yet. And I do, Len. I love you so much.” Barry said, earnestly.

 

“I love you too, Barry.” Len smiled softly. The his smile faded, “But what if it’s not enough?”

 

“Len,” Barry scowled, “I love you. It will be more than enough. And I’m just going to ignore how wrong I could take that sentence.”

 

“No! That’s not what I meant,” Len sighed, “You’re all I’ve ever needed, Barry. I was just worried. What if my curse is never broken and you’re stuck with a boyfriend that’s a snow leopard twenty five percent of the time? I don’t expect you to stay with me if this is the case. You deserve someone who can be with you one hundred percent of the time.”

 

“You’re an idiot Leonard Snart. I love you and even if you stayed cursed for the rest of your life or were suddenly a snow leopard all the time instead of for three hours in the morning I would still stay with you. And if you were to stay cursed it would just mean better cuddle opportunities for me.” Barry smiled ruefully, thinking about Len’s fluffy tail and how much he was going to miss it, “But sadly that’s not the case and now I’m stuck with a completely human you for the rest of our lives.”

 

“What do you mean? You don’t know if the curse is broken yet.” Len frowned, confused.

 

“Yes I do. You know why?” Barry grinned. “The clock is wrong. I set it four hours behind. It’s actually seven o’clock and forty five minutes past sunrise.”

 

“What?” Len was very confused now. He looked down at himself, “But I’m not a leopard.” He looked back up at Barry with awe, “I’m not leopard.”

  
Barry’s eyes filled with tears even as he kept grinning, “I know. You’re not a leopard anymore. It’s over,” he laughed, “You’re human and I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha finally finished. technically its been finished for months just sitting in a doc in a tab in one of my many open windows (i have five open currently) I know a lot of you were expecting sex but I learned that when it comes to emotional I love you sex I have no skill. I asked a couple people for help but everyone is so busy right now that I've given up... so please don't be mad at me

**Author's Note:**

> Sin happens next chapter


End file.
